1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lever-type connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known lever-type connector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,696. This known lever-type connector has a male housing with a receptacle and a lever mounted on the male housing. The lever has cam grooves formed therein. A moving plate is movably disposed in the receptacle for positioning male tabs of male terminals, and a female terminal can be fit in the receptacle after the moving plate. The female terminal and the moving plate are formed with cam pins that can engage the cam grooves of the lever.
The lever can be set at a connection starting position, so that the cam pins of the female housing and the moving plate engage with cam grooves in the lever. The lever can be rotated to a connection position so that the cam grooves and the cam pins pull the female housing and the moving plate into the receptacle, thereby connecting the male and female housings.
It may be necessary to perform an electrical connection test for the male terminals before the female housing is connected with the male housing. Thus, a testing device is inserted into the receptacle from the front with the lever set at the connection starting position. The testing device then is brought into contact with the leading ends of the tabs that project forward from the moving plate.
There are some cases where the male housing of the lever-type connector has male terminals with tabs of different lengths, and relatively short tabs cannot project forward from the moving plate when the lever is at the connection starting position. In such a case, the electrical connection test is conducted with the lever rotated part of the way toward the connection ending position to pull the moving plate. However, operability is poor because it is difficult to determine the degree of rotation of the lever that will cause the tabs to project. Further, if the lever is rotated completely to the connection ending position, the rotation stroke is too large and operability is unsatisfactory.
In view of the above, it may be considered to reset the moving plate in a height direction to a lower position that conforms to the shortest tab. However, this is not a fundamental solution because the relatively long tabs may not be positioned properly.
The present invention was developed in view of the above situation and an object thereof is to improve the operability by allowing an electrical connection test for a plurality of male terminal fittings in particular having tabs whose leading ending positions differ with respect to a connecting direction.
The invention is directed to a lever-type connector with a first housing that has a receptacle and a second housing that can be fit into the receptacle. The first housing has a plurality of terminal fittings with tabs that project into the receptacle. A moving plate is disposed in the receptacle for movement along a connecting direction, and the tabs of the terminal fittings can be arranged in or through the moving plate. A cam pin projects from the moving plate and a lever with a cam groove is pivotally mounted on the first housing. The cam groove of the lever can engage the cam pins when the lever is in the connection starting position. The lever then can be pivoted toward the connection ending position to pull the second housing and the moving plate into the receptacle. The lever also can be pivoted to a testing position before the housings are connected. Rotation of the lever to the testing position pulls the moving plate to a position where the tabs of all terminal fittings project from the moving plate and toward an open side of the receptacle with the cam pin of the moving plate held engaged with the cam groove. Thus, a testing device can be inserted into the receptacle and into contact with the projecting portions of the tabs.
The second housing may have a cam pin that engages a cam groove of the lever. The cam pin of the second housing may be unitable with the cam pin of the movable plate and fitted into the same cam groove on the lever.
The connector preferably comprises lock means for holding the lever at the testing position.
The terminal fittings may have tabs with leading ends at different with respect to a connecting direction. The electrical connection test can be performed simultaneously even though the male terminal fittings have tabs with leading ends at different positions along the connecting direction. The lever is returned to the connection starting position after the electrical connection test is completed, and then the housings can be connected with each other.
The lever preferably reaches the testing position by rotation from the connection starting position in a direction opposite from the connection ending position. Additionally, the cam groove has an engaging area that engages the cam pin of the moving plate when the lever is rotated to the testing position.
The rotating direction of the lever can be reversed at the time of the electrical connection test and at the time of the connecting operation. In contrast, if the testing position were at an intermediate position between the connection starting position and the connection ending position, the lever would be at the testing position during the rotation course of the lever when the two housings are being connected. Thus, the lever could not be rotated continuously, and operability would be reduced. However, the operability of the lever is satisfactory according to the present invention.
The lever preferably is spaced from and does not overlap the opening side of the receptacle when the lever is at the testing position. Thus, the lever does not hinder the insertion of the testing device through the opening side of the receptacle when the electrical connection test is to be conducted.
The lever preferably abuts on a receiving portion of the first housing in the testing position.
Further, the lever preferably overlies the opening side of the receptacle when the lever reaches the connection ending position.
The movable plate may comprise positioning holes for guiding insertion of the terminal fittings.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that even though embodiments are separately described, single features thereof may be combined to additional embodiments.